The archaeology of "The Great Escape" from Stalag Luft III

The movie "The Great Escape" featuring Steve McQueen was one of my favorite movies as a kid. Not a very realistic movie I was told by my father at the time but I was very young and didn´t care too much about these kind of  issues back then :)

Here´s a nice documentary covering the archaeological fieldwork (2011) of  this dramatic site. Another example of how archaeology can add to and illustrate the real history of WW2!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMTdmkqwpXY

Links to a few articles about the dig:

http://www.mastersconnection.com/index.php/archived-articles/general/1438-tunnel-revealed-after-67-yearsthe-great-escape 

http://buryingbooks.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/digging-up-a-book-at-stalag-luft-iii/

"Deutschen Lager Hanko" project starting tomorrow

Feeling exited. After acquiring all the necessary permits and meeting up with all the involved authorities the archaeological excavation of the WW2 German transition camp is finally a reality. The first trial excavations and surveys of this large and complex site will take place 10.4.-14.4.2014. The archaeological work  will be part of a larger study of the position of the city and larger Hanko area in WW2 and is to start in full in the summer of 2015. 

I stumbled upon this great lecture by Tony Pollard over Youtube and would like to share it here. It discusses some key issues regarding conflict- and battlefield archaeology and making documentaries about the subject:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkwWsd4ff1c

WW2 conflict archaeology in Finland

As some of You fellow archaeologists may have already noticed  I have deleted most of my posts regarding my upcoming and scientific WW2 conflict archaeological research in Hanko Finland. The fieldwork is starting soon (maybe already next week) and I just felt my older posts about the project like something of a burden.

From everything bad and sad (like NWD and NatGeo)  always comes something good. Thank You so very much  for Your kind support in keeping up the good work guys (and Dolls) into archaeology. You know who You are! Keep posting!

Ethic issues and conflict archaeology

After a somewhat turbulent past week (during which I decided not to co-operate with an international team who wanted to film on WW2 sites in Finland) things are moving forward in a good and steady manner again. My only concern is that I hope that all professional archaeologists that are doing conflict archaeological research show the same backbone and know were to draw the line.

Ethical issues are present on every dig, not only when uncovering human remains but in the whole process of treating the past with the respect it needs. Non destructive excavation methods are to be used whenever possible and if the decision to excavate is made it should be done in such a manner that there´s absolutely no doubt that the process of excavation can be recreated afterwards. Careful documentation is a laborious process but after the excavation and when the site has been dug  it´s all that´s left (along with the finds) to recreate and thus help understanding the site no matter how recent or old.

After getting this off my heart I´m now moving on with my scientific conflict archaeology project. I might still make a documentary about it but this time only with a team I trust (and know from before) and strictly in the limits of hardcore science and crystal clear rules on ethics.

"School Days" again

Today I visited Alppilan yläaste (Alppila "high school") in Helsinki and lectured about archaeology (in Swedish) for one more group of wonderful young people. Many good questions were raised by the students and time sure did fly again this time. With good young people like these the future looks very bright for Finland. I will visit the same school again in may, can´t wait :)

Creativity and hard times

I have always felt that creativity in poetry and music often springs from difficult times rather than times of "easy living". The same can in my opinion also be said about archaeology and creative new ideas regarding archaeological research.

After my graduation I have been intensively looking for work in museums etc. but without any success. The negative experiences have however not made me loose hope about my choice of profession but instead sparked an enormous amount of energy when it comes to generating new research ideas and networking with brilliant new people around these projects. Money is very short yes, but I have not felt this much alive and happy in many years (in fact since 1990).

I seriously doubt I would ever have had any of these ideas or met these fantastic persons if working in a secure nine to five profession. Always look at the bright side of life and keep listening to the Ramones :).

Since 1976

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElX7x_qNUYQ

Metal detecting in Great Britain (2008)

Great documentary and lot´s of interesting issues regarding metal detecting here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD4C2qBcotw

Histories from the stone-age in Sipoo and Kimito Västanfjärd

Today I contacted  Sibbo Hembygdsförening and Västanfjärds Byaråd. Both are active societies and very interested in local prehistory and history The idea is to arrange archaeological excavations and small scale exhibitions in co-operation with them and to engage  local people (amateur historians, schoolchildren etc.) in the research of their fascinating but mostly untold history.

Recommended if You want to know more about "Kimito"!

Visit to Arkeologian Laitos or dpt of Archaeology at the University of Helsinki

Today was the first real day of spring here in S Finland, seagulls were screaming in the skies as I walked the streets towards the University. Small spots of snow here and there but I could feel the strong back of winter cracking.

Picked up a few great books (for free) at the dpt while waiting for the meeting with professor Mika Lavento. This one apparently belonged to the late  professor Ari Siiriäinen (what a treasure!).

I have to say the meeting with professor Lavento was a very friendly and supportive one. We seemed to share the same views regarding my planned fieldwork and the futuere co-operation with Heureka the Finnish Science Centre and the Alumni at the University of Helsinki http://www.helsinki.fi/alumnus/ .

Tomorrow it´s time to throw in last years excavation reports to the National Board of Antiquities and grab a speedy lunch with archaeologist Simo Vanhatalo at the legendary Restaurant Weeruska  :)

Weeruska restaurant

Jokiniemi 2014

Yesterday was a very good day as I met up with experience director Mikko Myllykoski from Heureka the Finnish Science Center. The planning of the upcoming trial-/rescue excavation of the Jokiniemi stone-age dwelling site took a big leap forward and it now seems very,very likely that a short excavation will take place here from the 28.7. - 3.8.2014. We will be working on details next week so keep checking in here to get the latest news about the state of things.

Me and archaeology student Mr. Olli Eranti visited Jokiniemi after the meeting and this is what the place looks like now 20 years after the last excavation made here by Heureka (in 1994). Lots of memories and excitement in the air as we walked around this very special  site.

Vantaa Jokiniemi (Sandliden) 28.2.2014. The upper part of the dwelling site with finds of Ka II:1-2

Vantaa Jokiniemi (Sandliden) 28.2.2014 . The lower part of the dwelling site (towards Keravanjoki river) with finds of Ka II:2 and Ka III:1 and a few sherds of corded ware pottery and asbestos tempered pottery.

Dog poo day

Today I made my first field trip of the 2014 season. Spring is here in the middle of what should be winter and it feels very good. Drops of snow here and there but damn, if things continue like this here in this otherwise "freezing country", I will be able to start serious fieldwork in just a couple of weeks time. The town center looked gloomy as always...

Karis Köpmansgatan, the Brasserie is in the second building to the left.

Still the day started out very good with a meeting with history teacher J-E Till and what I have to say was an outstanding very cheap lunch at the local Brasserie. Flounder fillets and potato mash with an excellent forest mushroom sauce. We decided on an excavation in mid May at Säterigatan along with an excursion to the prehistoric sites in the region with the students (aged around 17). The excavation will center on the parts of the dwelling site that are in immediate danger of being destroyed by roadworks.

The 4000 BC stone age dwelling site at Säterigatan today.

While taking the pic above I couldn´t help picking up what seemed to be a large comb ceramic potsherd only to find I had picked up a very smelly handful of dog poo :D.  Early spring has it´s drawbacks.... Interestingly enough the early season showed off some very visible (recent) disturbances of the site. Later in spring or summer this one could very well have been classified as a possible hut foundation or -depression.

"Hut foundation" type of feature or more probably a recent disturbance at Säterigatan.

Tomorrow Karis-Billnäs Gymnasium

To meet up with my good friend and  history teacher J-E Till and discuss practical issues in connection with the upcoming archaeological excavation by the students of his history class.

The rescue excavation will take place in may and it will be conducted either on the stone age dwelling site of Säterigatan (Ka II:1-Ka II:2) or Långåmossarna (Ka I:2).

Excavations in progress on Karis Säterigatan in 2001 (A. Wickholm / S. Wessman)

Why there´s a need for "The Archaeology of the Recent Past"

I think this documentary clearly illustrates the need for archaeology of the recent past. It also shows some interesting approaches as to how fieldwork can be done on town sites. It should also (of course) be clear to everyone that children can´t participate on  regular WW2 battlefield archaeology digs because of security issues.

Enjoy :) !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buS8203B1Dg

Books from the personal library of Finnish archaeologist Matti Huurre for sale!

During the annual presentation of archaeological excavations in Finland in 2013 at the Finnish National Museum tomorrow (and the day after) many archaeology related books from the personal library of renowned Finnish archaeologist and writer Matti Huurre will be sold to the public by "Suomen Muinaismuistoyhdistys ry" and "Suomen Arkeologinen Seura!

Matti Huurre in 1990 (to the right)

If You are looking for goodies please be there in time and remember that we only accept payment in cash!

http://www.muinaismuistoyhdistys.fi/

http://www.sarks.fi/

The annual presentation of archaeological fieldwork in Finland 2013

will take place in the facilities of the National Museum in Helsinki on 12-13th of February 2014 from 9.30 - 16.30. The sessions are free of charge and open to the general public.

I will be attending the sessions and write some short summaries in English for the blog. I hope to get them posted during next weekend (at the latest).

Below is a link to the program (in Finnish):

http://www.nba.fi/fi/ajankohtaista/tapaamiset_ja_seminaarit

Archaeology lesson at Töölön Yhteiskoulun Lukio (TYK)

Just back from another great school visit this time to TYK were an audience of 30 made me feel very welcome. The lesson was a bit short as we only had 45 mins in all. Still we managed to cover quite an extensive area of studies in archaeology, archaeological excavations, osteology etc. etc.

TYK in situated in Helsinki city centre close to the Olympic Stadium

I sincerely hope to see you guys on some of my excavations in the future :). Next school to visit is Alppilan yläaste.

Coroplastic Studies

Just finished my minor contribution to the January newsletter of the Association of Coroplastic Studies and forwarded it to professor emerita Jaimee Uhlenbrock (State Univerity of New York at New Paltz). The article is a short version of a a bigger research project  I´m working on.

"Circumbaltic Contacts in the Subneolithic Period

Anthropomorphic Clay Figurines from Vantaa Jokiniemi and Maarinkunnas  in Southern Mainland Finland" 

 http://www.coroplasticstudies.org/newsletter.html  

And so all of a sudden...  it´s Friday again and I´m feeling good :),  cheers!

Planned educational excavations/archaeology tours for 2014

This is VERY preliminary but this is the situation today 30.1.2014.

Raseborg Långåmossarna  (with Karis hembygdsförening/sällskapet Natura) early May 2014
Raseborg Säterigatan (with Karis Billnäs Gymnasium) May/June 2014
Vantaa Jokiniemi (with Heureka and Ango ry) 21 - 25.7.2014
Pitäjänmäki Leikkipuisto (with schools in the larger Helsinki region) late May 2014?

Stay tuned,  more info as things progress (and subsequently .. change ;)

TV interview with archaeologist Henrik Jansson on the castle of Raseborg SW Finland (in Swedish)

From ca 1.50 

http://arenan.yle.fi/tv/2120054

http://svenska.yle.fi/artikel/2013/05/21/forststyrelsen-kan-ta-over-raseborgs-slott-da-museiverket-sparar

Metal detectorist Veiko Kuusmik unveils iron age grave find in Jämsä Central Finland

This interesting piece of news somehow escaped me in the late autumn of 2013. The items seem to belong to a previously unknown creamation burial site ("below flat ground").  Here are a few pics of the finds and a few links to articles (in Finnish).

http://yle.fi/uutiset/jamsasta_loytyi_rautakautinen_aarre/6956083

http://yle.fi/uutiset/ajattelin_pikkurattaan_polykapseliksi_-_jamsan_aarre_loytyi_sattumalta/6960314?ref=leiki-uu

The lighter side of archaeology :)

"Horrible Histories "

HUNTER/GATHERER VS. FARMER, NEW MULTI-PURPOSE STRING!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUM-MgAAp6Q

and

THE VIKING SONG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qSkaAwKMD4

Textile finds from the Senaatintori excavation finds after conservation

Archaeological excavations were carried out in Helsinki City Center in the late fall of 2012. Part of the Senaatintori square used to be a graveyard in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The excavated area was situated in the left hand corner of this panorama picture.

The excavations were rescue excavations conducted because of a break in the pipe system underneath the square. The textile fragments found during the excavation are now out of the conservation laboratory. The textiles date to around 1600-1700 AD. Below is a link to a short article about the conservation process of the textiles (in Finnish). All the pictures below by courtesy of Helsinki City Museum.

http://www.hel.fi/hki/Museo/fi/Kokoelmat+ja+tutkimus/Ty_n_alla/Hautaloytoja

SANDBYBORG a frozen moment "iron age massacre" on Öland

Below is a link to a video (in English) concerning a very interesting archaeological find from Öland Sweden last summer. Certainly a site worth all the attention it gets!

Photo courtesy of Kalmar Läns Museum.

http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/o.o.i.s?id=24890&news_item=6097

Brooches from the site.Photo courtesy of Kalmar Läns Museum.

http://www.svt.se/nyheter/regionalt/smalandsnytt/massaker-kartlaggs

School days: Gymnasiet Lärkan (Helsinki)

Today I had the the fine opportunity of  lecturing about the profession of archaeology at Gymnasiet Lärkan in Helsinki to a group of very motivated senior students. What a wonderful experience :).  I hope to see at least some of them attend my excavations during the incoming summer!

Despite of the recession there still seems to to be an interest in history among the students, many of which were very much aware of the recent developments in historical/medieval archaeology. Another field of interest today was about the ethics of the excavation of graves.

The bad reputation of the National Board of Antiquities in Finland seems to have been inherited quite well from previous generations. When asked, not one of the students had anything positive to say about this important National institution. When I asked about a negative impressions of  "Museovirasto" several hands flung up. Personally I can´t but wonder how things have come to this, but maybe it´s just simply a case of resistance of authorities.

On the contrast  to this the respect for the Universities and the education given there seem to be on a good  maybe "traditionally too good" or high level.

The radiocarbon dates of the Janakkala grave find were published today!

By Lea Murto-Orava from the National board of Antiquities:

The piece of bone from which the radiocarbon sample was extracted. Photo Simo Vanhatalo NBA.

Radiocarbon datings of the skeleton indicate that the adult male was buried/died in the 14th century. The older sword (type Z) datet back to 950-1050 AD  and the longer sword to 1050-1200 AD (type XI).

A piece of charcoal apparently deliberately placed near the face of the body is from the 11th century.

There also were some burnt bones in the upper layers of the grave. These will be analyzed and dated in a couple of months.

According to the press release there were a couple more finds in the grave. Besides the two swords a spearhead, an axe, a knife and a handle from a kettle were also among the grave goods!

The grave from Janakkala. Photo by Simo Vanhatalo the National Board of Antiquities.

More abou the find here (in finnish):

http://www.nba.fi/fi/ajankohtaista/tiedotearkisto?Article=5867

http://kalmistopiiri.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/janakkalan-muinaishaudan-miekkamies-on-kuollut-keskiajalla/

simo.vanhatalo@nba.fi

Blade core techniques

Personally I  found this series utterly interesting at least from part two onward . Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TclZkQA0G8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HSMGLmolL4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgKC_fNsbFw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9ugfvVosgE

Good article on professional and responsible metal detecting in Finland

The article is only in Finnish but I will translate it to  English shortly. The article is written by the "Finnish national broadcasting company (YLE). Great job! The team goes under the name of "Kanta-Hämeen menneisyyden etsijät"

http://khme.org/#

Great pictures by Ville Välimäki (YLE)

http://yle.fi/uutiset/metallinilmaisimen_piipitys_vie_miekkamiehen_loytajan_menneisyyteen/7014812?ref=leiki-es

Excavating a museum

in search of prehistoric artefacts (in lumps of soil as in this case) may prove very successfull :). This nice item was originally discovered at an excavation of the Viking burial site (a long barrow) in Lilleberge Norway by a British archaeologist in the 1880´s.

Photo by Andy Hall for the Observer.

http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jan/05/vikings-treasure-excavation-british-museum

Re-excavating the Lilleberge assemblage.

http://www.dayofarchaeology.com/tag/norway/

Metal detecting frenzy sweeping across Finland

Metal detectorists in Finland have reported a number of interesting finds during the last year. The media and also this blog have covered  the finds of a gold ring in Espoo, a bronze-age axe in Kemiö and the iron age grave with two swords from Janakkala. The news of the great finds  have skyrocketed the number of people who are into metal detecting in Finland.

Sadly I just received this bad news from Turku. I hope that the National Board of Antiquities ore someone else with authority would start coordinating the work with the people who are into this hobby. It is not only a matter of protecting the prehistoric and historic sites but also a question about where to find the money to pay for the multitude of items sent in by the enthusiasts  in hope of a fast cash reward for valuable finds.

I hope that the media would cover the subject with care and talk less about the cash value of the finds and instead focus on the possibilities of serious co-operation between the people into metal detecting and professional archaeologists. I see metal detecting as a great opportunity for archaeology but also as a great threat if it´s just treasure hunting for cash (although reported to authorities). The example below isn´t either, it is  simply criminal.

http://www.ts.fi/uutiset/kotimaa/580877/Kaivamisen+kielto+yllatti+metallinetsijat+Turun+Koroisissa